Italy regulator probes Microsoft over 'Microsoft 365' price hike

ROME, June 26 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Friday it had opened an investigation into Microsoft over alleged unfair commercial practices linked to the price hike of its "Microsoft 365" subscription.

The regulator said the Windows maker did not adequately inform consumers that its Microsoft 365 service had been integrated with artificial intelligence tools Copilot and Designer.

Consumers were automatically moved to a more expensive subscription plan unless they actively opted out, while receiving insufficient information to decide whether to renew their contracts, the watchdog added in its statement.

It added that the tech giant's practice could be considered aggressive because it unduly limited consumers' freedom of choice.

"Microsoft is committed to complying with Italian consumer law and will cooperate with the Italian Competition Authority in its preliminary investigation," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Alvise Armellini)